# Let's list often confused terms **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762 "2011-08-15T06:03:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/21 "2011-08-15T23:18:49Z")
Phase / faze = I went through a phase where egregious grammatical mistakes bugged the h3!! out of me. Now they don’t faze me. Jive / jibe = The author’s use of jive in the otherwise scholarly article didn’t jibe with his claim of punctilious academic writing. Holistic =/= homeopathy. My pet’s veterinarian incorporates holistic concepts in his practice, but draws the line at including junk sciences such as “homeopathy”. Lay/lie = oh, what’s the use with trying to sort out this pair? It’s a lost cause. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/22 "2011-08-16T01:04:12Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Definately. > Which often gets spell-checked into “defiantly” and makes me think I’m going to loose my mind. you do know that is spelled “definitely”, right? flaunt/flout flair/flare ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/23 "2011-08-16T01:53:04Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > loose and lose > [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > you do know that is spelled “definitely”, right? Well DUH, Eagle Eyes. I was being funny. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/24 "2011-08-16T01:54:53Z")
Make that “_Yes_, Eagle Eyes.” No need for me to be so pissy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/25 "2011-08-16T02:01:29Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > breaks and brakes This. I am a lousy speller\*, but this drives me up a wall. Your brakes stop the car, if they break then they are broken. \*Hey if I can get it close enough that spell check can find I consider it a win ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/26 "2011-08-16T02:49:38Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > carom - to ricochet > careen - to tilt > career - to move fast Ah! Thanks for that! I always thought carom and careen were two versions of the same word (meaning “ricochet”). Thanks for the correction. > [@Toucanna](#): > > Lay/lie = oh, what’s the use with trying to sort out this pair? It’s a lost cause. I can typically get this one right in writing when I have a second to think it through. But in speech, I probably pick the wrong one about half the time. I think of myself as a reasonably intelligent and articulate person, but lay/lie still trips me up sometimes. Maybe this one isn’t common, but a dear friend of mine, who may be the smartest person I know, says “ **weary** ” when he should say “ **wary** ”. As in, “I am weary of the unintended consequences of that action.” I think he’s conflating “wary” and “leery” into one word. Dunno if others fall prey to the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/27 "2011-08-16T03:37:44Z")
Bit esoteric, but when software company Pixologic created their 3D rendering software, ZBrush, they needed a term for a new kind of pixel. A regular pixel has an X and Y coordinate, plus a color. Pixologic needed to store all that, plus a Z coordinate for depth. And so they invented: The Pixol. Say those two terms out loud a few times. Pixel. Pixol. Pixel. Pixol. You fuckers couldn’t have come up with something just _slightly_ more original than that? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/28 "2011-08-16T03:55:26Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Technically, “effect” is used as a verb sometimes, but I consider that business-speak and undesirable. No, it’s a fair verb, meanin to cause or bring about. I’ve heard it used often in medical terminology, as in “Smoking effects cancer.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/29 "2011-08-16T04:07:31Z")
Arse / Elbow ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/30 "2011-08-16T04:47:25Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Originally Posted by bibliophage View Post > > careen - to tilt > career - to move fast I will NEVER be able to keep these two straight. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/31 "2011-08-16T04:48:13Z")
Nobody confuses affect and effect any more. Impact has been substituted for both! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/32 "2011-08-16T04:57:33Z")
And while we’re at it, “affect” can also be a noun, in similarly rare contexts. [XKCD](http://xkcd.com/326/) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/33 "2011-08-16T04:57:49Z")
Inter / Intern ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/34 "2011-08-16T05:40:24Z")
Disinterested means impartial; uninterested means you ain’t interested in the topic at hand. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/35 "2011-08-16T05:43:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Inter / Intern Must be tough for the college kids where you work. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/36 "2011-08-16T11:35:17Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Make that “_Yes_, Eagle Eyes.” No need for me to be so pissy about it. Oh. That must explain the whooshing sound I heard last night. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/37 "2011-08-16T11:43:58Z")
**Quiet** and **quite** are quite different words with quite different meanings. They shouldn’t be that hard to tell apart. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/38 "2011-08-16T12:36:03Z")
One I got caught out with the other day: continuous, contiguous and continual. But in this case, even knowing the definitions it’s tricky to pick the right one in some situations. And when people take “consciousness” in a philosophical debate to just mean alertness / activity i.e. the opposite of “unconscious”. (I’m not sure if this counts, as it _is_ one definition of consciousness, but it’s almost never the meaning intended in such debates). ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/39 "2011-08-16T13:50:34Z")
IMHO, the auto-correcting of “its” to “it’s” is actually really convenient - it saves two keystrokes on a word that is in about every other sentence, as opposed to its (heh) much less common pronoun brother. You just need to make sure to “x” the suggestion when you really do want to spell “its”. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762/40 "2011-08-16T14:40:07Z")
Nauseous and nauseated. Came across the best definition in Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. > [@](#): > > The first means “sickening to contemplate”; the second means “sick at the stomach.” Do not, therefore, say “I feel nauseous,” unless you are sure you have that effect on others. Now I can’t help but make the distinction when watching TV where I find that the overuse of nauseous is more accurate than the writers intended. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-list-often-confused-terms/592762.md?page=3)